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ALUMINIUM INDUSTRY IN THE GULF
than half of them implemented. Our motto is:
Everything can be improved.
ALUMINIUM: There was recent announcement
by your parent company Mubadala that
it is going to merge the businesses of Dubal and
Emal to create Emirates Global Aluminium.
What is the reason behind this decision?
Al Mazrooei: Although Dubal and Emal
have been separate companies, we have always
worked closely together on different
platforms, for example on technology, logistics
and material supply. We rely on Dubal
to procure all our materials and utilise their
experience in sales and marketing. When we
started the production of Phase I in 2009 our
employees were trained at Dubal. So there is
a lot of Dubal culture embedded at Emal. The
only difference was in the ownership, which
has now changed. Mubadala owns fifty percent
of both Dubal and Emal. Dubal, which previously
owned fifty percent of Emal, transferred
its ownership in Emal to ICD, a Dubai Government
investment fund that owns the other
half of Dubal. In principle, there will not be
much of an operational change. It is mainly
the ownership that has changed.
ALUMINIUM: Does that mean Emirates
Global Aluminium is a kind of holding company?
Al Mazrooei: It is a corporation that will look
after many types of operation. For example,
Mubadala and Dubal have stakes in projects
in Guinea and elsewhere. Dubal has a stake
in a calciner project in China for the manufacture
of carbon anodes. There is a feasibility
study underway for an alumina refinery at Al
Taweelah. In other words: Emirates Global
Aluminium will have a much bigger business
perspective than Emal on its own.
ALUMINIUM: What about the brand names
‘Emal’ and ‘Dubal’ as references for high-quality
aluminium? Will these brands be replaced
by a brand name like ‘Emirates Aluminium’?
Al Mazrooei: We have worked hard to establish
‘Emal’ as a brand. Dubal too has its
own highly renowned brand backed by thirty
years’ effort to establish a strong position in
the market. It wouldn’t be wise to give up this
goodwill. In future, we will operate under the
same umbrella with two smelters at different
sites. There will be one sales team, but for two
different products – Dubal and Emal.
ALUMINIUM: Has this integration already
started or will that be implemented at a later
date?
Al Mazrooei: We are still waiting for endorsements
from regulatory authorities in all regions
where we sell our products. We hope to have
all approvals in place by the end of the first
quarter of 2014.
Emal has spent more than USD700m in environment-related equipment to minimise emissions from
aluminium production
ALUMINIUM: I understand you will become
CEO of UAE operations.
Al Mazrooei: Both for the operations at Emal
and Dubal and for any future UAE Project. Mr
Abdulla Kalban, formerly president and CEO
of Dubal, will be the MD and the CEO of Emirates
Global Aluminium and in charge of UAE
and global operations.
ALUMINIUM: Do you regard this merger as
a big opportunity to grow?
Al Mazrooei: Yes, that is the goal – to grow,
not to shrink, and to realise synergies while we
grow. If you look at mergers in Europe or elsewhere,
they are mostly executed in order to
reduce overhead and cut costs. Our approach
is the other way round. Nobody will lose his
job, people will maintain their present work
but there will be synergies for the system and
procedures.
ALUMINIUM: Emal is hosting the Arabal
Conference in November in Abu Dhabi? What
is the principal idea behind this conference?
Al Mazrooei: To bring people from the global
aluminium industry together. To promote
the UAE as an attractive location for industry
in general and especially for the aluminium
industry. To show potential investors where
we stand today and what we can offer. There
are many opportunities in the Gulf and the
UAE for starting up businesses. As you know,
when doing business you have to look at your
competitors, at the markets and technologies,
and where the business is going to develop.
We are looking forward to many company
representatives participating in the event. We
are targeting particular companies that we
want to be part of the conference. There will
be a good balance of presentations and time
for networking. And of course, part of the
programme will be workshops and a site tour
for all visitors that are interested in getting an
impression of our smelter.
ALUMINIUM: So you are not only expecting
attendees from the primary aluminium industry,
but from the industry as a whole and from
all over the world?
Al Mazrooei: Yes, from the upstream and
downstream sectors, from suppliers and customers,
bankers and investors. We want to
bring industry experts and decision makers –
politicians and senior executives – to Arabal.
We are very proud to host this conference and
are working hard to make it a unique event –
in terms of the material that is presented, the
people that will be attending and the speakers.
The conference will start two days after another
exciting event in Abu Dhabi: the Formula
1 Grand Prix. That will be a good opportunity
to combine business with pleasure.
ALUMINIUM: A final word about Emal’s
market position: do you see Emal as one of
the top three smelters in the world?
Al Mazrooei: Not only as one of the top three,
but as No 1: not in terms of volumes, but the
different platforms we have just talked about.
We are No 1 on start-up commissioning and
ramp-up; nobody has broken our record yet.
We are No 1 in project execution: we have the
lowest capex per tonne of aluminium. We are
No 1 in safety record: we recently won a safety
award from the RoSPA, the Royal Society for
the Prevention of Accidents. I am proud to say
that we can compete with any industry and
aluminium company in the world.
ALUMINIUM: Mr Al Mazrooei, many thanks
for this discussion.
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